Camping
by MalloryAlise
Summary: Max finally gets her s'mores.


_Disclaimer_: I don't own Dark Angel or any of the characters in this story. They are the sole property of Cameron and Eglee. Can't blame a girl for wanting to have a little fun, can you?

_Notes_: This is just a mindless piece of fluff. Kudos to you, if you can spot the X-Files reference hidden in the beginning. Original publication date June 21, 2001.

**Camping**

_ You screwed up Cale_, Logan thought morosely as he stared out at the broken city beneath him. _All she wanted was to spend time with you. You're scared out of your mind because Max wanted to spend the weekend with you, so what did you do? You copped out. Max is partially right, you hide behind Eyes Only so that you don't have to deal with the outside world._ Logan's conscience yelled at him.

"Okay, so I admit it. I screwed up, royally." Logan announced to the empty apartment. _So you know you screwed things up. Don't sit around being an ass, fix it._ "But how?" Then it him, like it was raining sleeping bags. Rolling across his living floor he picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. "Hey Bling, can you do me a favor?"

Max was just getting ready to go for a ride on her baby, when her pager went off. With an exasperated sigh she checked the number. "Logan, who else would it be?" She asked mumbling to herself.

"Hey boo," called Original Cindy from the kitchen. "You gonna kick it with Wheel Boy tonight? Cause I gotta lickety chick comin' in a few."

"Aww," Max teased, pretending to pout as she walked into the kitchen, "I thought I was your lickety boo."

"No offense boo, but you may be a little too butch for Original Cindy."

"Whatever," Max replied offhandedly. "Yeah, I'm headed for Logan's right now." She answered, wheeling her Ninja to the apartment door. "Late."

Once she was out on the streets, she could think. _What does she mean I'm to butch for her? Is that the way Logan sees me? I ain't gonna go all girlie or nothing, but I guess I could take some interest in things. Like getting a manicure or exfoliating. Oh get real, Maxie. That's not you,_ she thought irritably as she pulled up alongside Logan's building. After camouflaging her bike she went inside.

Expertly picking the lock, she threw open the door. "So what's the dealio with you blowing up my pager?" She called as she entered the dark apartment. "Logan?" In the living room, she could see a tent set up and on the floor before her was a haphazardly structured path made of cardboard rocks.

"I'm in the living room," Logan yelled back at her.

"Redecorating your apartment?" Max smiled, taking in the scene before her. A couple of backpacks, a Coleman stove, and some sleeping bags littered the floor surrounding the small tent. And beside of it, sat a bunch of candles in a small circle—_guess that's supposed to be the campfire._ All the furniture had been pushed up against the wall to make room for everything else. "What are you doing, Mr. Cale?"

"Well, since I deprived you of your s'mores because I was so wrapped up—hiding behind Eyes Only," he corrected himself, "I thought I'd give them to you now." He said grinning up at her as he finished lighting the candles. "Sorry no campfire—no fireplace."

"Candles are good," Max replied as she sat down on one of the sleeping bags. "How did you do all of this?"

Tossing her that boyish grin of his, "I have my ways." Setting the brakes on the wheelchair, he lowered himself onto the sleeping bag beside of her. "For dinner," he stated lifting the lid off the huge pot on the stove. "We have vegetable soup. And I can brown some toast with a little bit of garlic butter."

"Sounds great."

"And for dessert," he said pausing, "s'mores."

Looking over at him, "You didn't have to do all of this you know?"

"I know, that's why I did it," Logan replied softly. "Besides, I bet you never camped out in your living room before."

"No, but a lot of other people don't do that either."

"This," he said gesturing their 'campsite,' "is a part of my childhood." Picking up the ladle he spooned some of the soup into a bowl and handed it to Max. "My mom used to turn our living room into a campsite during rainy afternoons, or whenever I stayed home sick from school."

"She sounds great."

"She was," Logan answered in a faraway voice. Turning to look at Max, "She would have loved you."

"Oh really," Max replied surprised. "Why is that? Because I can take down an entire army single-handedly?"

"No, because you don't take any crap from me."

They sat in a companionable silence while they finished eating their dinner. Just as they were finishing the soup, Max jumped up.

"Going somewhere," Logan asked trying to sound casual.

"Best part of camping in your living room," Max grinned down at him, "you don't have to pee in the woods. Back in a second."

True to her word, she was back quickly and Logan had already gotten out the ingredients for s'mores.

"How are we going to roast marshmallows?"

"Candles, I used to do this all the time when I was little," Logan explained. "We had a summer place in this little town, and the electricity went off with every storm. So I used to pass the time roasting marshmallows over the candles."

"You really had a great childhood," Max said.

Lifting her chin up, Logan locked eyes with Max. "I wish I could give you one."

"This is pretty nice," Max confessed. "You know, this is all I really wanted when I suggested we go to Mt. Rainier."

"S'mores?"

Laughing a little, "No, us. Just talking like normal people. I mean, I'm surprised we've been able to talk for so long now without someone calling you or one of my sibs busting through the door."

"Simple. Turned off the phone. Unplugged the computer. Did an Eyes Only hack that said Max and Logan are camping, if you disturb them you will die."

"Oh really?"

"Yup, at least I unplugged the computer and turned off the phone. Batman is not answering the Bat signal tonight. Like I said before the world will still be broken tomorrow."

"Did you remember to pack the chessboard?"

"It's in the kitchen, where we left it last night," Logan said moving to get into his wheelchair. "I'll go get it."

"No, it's to far away. Have to play something else." Max said, "Besides, if you leave the campsite you might get attacked by a bear."

"Won't you save me?"

"I'll always save you," Max answered quietly looking into Logan's eyes. _Well, that stopped the flow of conversation. Good job Maxie_, she thought as silence preceded her comment. Then she noticed how close Logan's face was to her own. Two feet, one foot, three inches, nothing. And then Logan's lips gently caressed her own in the softest of kisses, before pulling back. They stared at each other for a moment, judging how the kiss had affected the other before moving back in for the kill.

"You know, I think I really like camping," Max smiled slyly at Logan as they broke the kiss and sucked in some much needed air.

"Yeah, we'll have to do it more often." He answered before kissing her again.


End file.
